Initially, the Mavs were slated to host the Minnesota Timberwolves at 3 p.m. Sunday at American Airlines Center. But since the Dallas Cowboys are hosting a divisional playoff game up the freeway in Arlington against the Green Bay Packers at 3:40 p.m., that’s a big problem from the Mavs’ perspective.

So the Mavs asked the NBA if they could switch the tipoff time of their game, and now the Dallas-Minnesota contest will start at 1 p.m.

"It’s great,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said of the time change. "It gives our fans a chance to come see our game and hit their DVRs and order pizza and turn that thing on at the end of the first quarter and basically watch it without any pauses.

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"I don’t know if I have any game plans for NBA games. But, I tell you what, I’ll come up with a good plan for Cowboys games.’’

Since an NBA game lasts around two hours, theoretically fans can watch both games from the beginning to the end. Or fans can even attend both games – although they would miss the beginning of the Cowboys contest if they watched the Mavs-Timberwolves in its entirety.

"We’re behind them all the way and we’re be watching once our game’s over with,’’ Carlisle said of the Cowboys. "Once we get through our five overtimes tomorrow.’’

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